The only memory he has before “the Home” is of a beautiful, lilting song.

He makes an unexpected friend, a small flightless bird named Trinket. She gives Number 13 a name, Arthur, and helps him escape from the miserable workhouse.

This tale is part Dickens, part magic, part steampunk as the two friends set off on a search to discover Arthur’s purpose and where he belongs.

The journey is full of marvelous world-building made richer by Bartok’s lovely illustrations.

“The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid”

By Colin Meloy

Illustrated by Carson Ellis

Balzer + Bray, $17.99

Ages 8-12

Bored 12-year-old Charlie Fisher, the son of a famous diplomat, witnesses an impressive robbery in 1960s Marseilles.

In Colin Meloy’s “The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid,” Charlie is dazzled by the young pickpockets who can make off with a watch or a wallet — or whatever they want, really — by misdirection and a knack for blending in with the scenery.

Charlie finds himself one of their marks, and then one of their students when he’s invited into the world of the Whiz Mob, a group of child thieves who have trained at the mysterious School of Seven Bells.

But what begins as a curiosity and a way for a bored and lonely kid to make friends takes a twist in this fast-paced adventure.

“Ben Franklin’s in My Bathroom”

By Candace Fleming

Illustrated by Mark Fearing

Schwartz & Wade, $13.99

Ages 7-10

A mysterious package arrives on the doorstep one day while 10-year-old Nolan is in charge of his little sister Olive, 7.

Their mother is upstairs at work in her attic studio trying to meet a deadline — she has writer’s block.

Nolan and Olive, though, open the brown paper package and discover an old two-way radio.

Somehow, it summons Ben Franklin himself to their house.

Nolan wants to send Ben back in time before their mom can find out what’s happening downstairs, where Ben is fascinated by the toilet (“By Jove, a self-cleaning commode.” he declared. “Ingenious.”), microwaved pizza puffs and, of course, working electricity.

Olive and Ben set off for the public library - Franklin’s invention - and there’s a founding father on the loose in town.

This ridiculous story is just the thing — funny, fast-paced and full of Franklin-isms.

Is it possible to combine bathroom humor with a founding father?

Yes. This is the smartest history lesson around.

“A Riddle in Ruby: The Great Unravel”

By Kent Davis

HarperCollins, $17.99

Ages 8-12

Ruby Teach is a thief, a smuggler, a lockpick and a pirate’s daughter in this clever trilogy set in a kind of alternate steampunk colonial America, where alchemists mix science and magic.

Ruby hides a secret, and the first books have her on the run from a secret society and the royal navy, and in the hands of the enemy.

In this latest installment, Ruby and her crew must save the city of “Philadelphi” from a mad scientist.

The books are action-packed and filled with great friendships, terrible villains, plot twists and plenty of humor.

“The Great Unravel” is the third final book in the “Riddle in Ruby” series; they are all worth the read.